Super NES Buyer’s Guide

Super NES Buyer’s Guide is a bimonthly magazine devoted exclusively to games for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. It followed in the footsteps of Sendai’s successful Mega Play magazine, but launched too far after the SNES’s launch to leave much of a mark on the marketplace.

History

Like Mega Play, Super NES Buyer’s Guide existed more because Sendai wanted another magazine to sell than for any other reason. Each issue read essentially like a miniature version of Electronic Gaming Monthly with only SNES content, and most of the editorial team was also the same. There was some added depth (more previews and tips, as well as a new three-man Review Crew), but there still wasn’t much value for the $3.95 cover price, and for most of its life, the magazine was even thinner on content than Mega Play.

It was quickly obvious that Super NES Buyer’s Guide had nothing to offer that Nintendo Power didn’t already have in bulk. As a result, Sendai quietly closed the magazine in late 1994. (I’m not sure if there are any more issues after Nov/Dec 1994; if you know of any, let me know.)